Rabbi talks turkey in Thanksgivukah interview

Or, um, talks to a turkey, that is.

It hasn’t happened in more than a century and won’t again for another 79,000 years. No, it’s not a rare convergence of planets or some other wildly unique astronomical event … it’s Thanksgivukah!

Yes, once every 80,000 years or so, the Jewish calendar and the Gregorian calendar meet in such a way that Hanukah and Thanksgiving overlap. There are any number of ways to celebrate this rare amalgamation of days. For instance, there’s the turkey-shaped menorah, called the Menurkey; or the special Thanksgivukah confections at a NYC bakery, including spiced pumpkin doughnuts with turkey and gravy filling and sweet potato doughnuts with toasted marshmallow cream filling. The holiday even has its own Facebook page.

But to take it to a more spiritual level, Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Chabad director to Mineola Long Island, suggests combining the two by buying a kosher turkey and making a completely kosher Thanksgiving Hanukah party. He goes on to interview a turkey, who reveals his sense of humor when he (the turkey) notes how meaningful Thanksgivukah could be. “Just think of the taste of turkey now lingering on for at least eight days, especially if I was deep-fried in pure Chanukah olive oil! Haha ... that was a joke,” he clucks.

For more advice, Rabbi Perl asks the turkey for some tips on how to make Hanukah more fulfilling by marrying it with a Thanksgiving turkey.

To which the turkey replied:

1. First make sure the turkey you are eating is kosher!
2. Then check to be sure to make the proper blessings before and after eating the Thanksgiving meal.
3. Also remember that the turkey may just be a reincarnation of a human being, sent back into this world as this animal, only waiting to be elevated and rectified by your efforts to be sure it's kosher and your pronouncement of the correct blessing before eating.
4. Finally don’t forget while you are eating the turkey, look at the Hanukah lights burning brightly in your home. Express gratitude to our creator; give thanks to those who protect us, for the past benefits from schools and jobs, for being judged favorably by others, for being able transform a worry into gratitude and to always speak in tones of appreciation and thanks!

So there you have it, the turkey has spoken. Now get those turkey donuts and the Menurkey ready, and give enough thanks to last another 80,000 years.